The Patriots’ top left tackle option is still adjusting to his new position originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
FOXBORO – Although the media and fans are rightly hyperfocused on new Patriots quarterback Drake Maye At the moment, there is another place that deserves almost the same attention.
The left tackle position could be one of the key factors in determining when and how well Maye plays as a rookie. And it’s still a huge question mark in roster construction.
During Monday’s OTA practice, veteran Chukwuma Okorafor was the first offensive lineman to protect the blindside of veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Then came Vederian Lowe. Third-round rookie Caedan Wallace also filled in on the left side.
None of them are established starters for coach Jerod Mayo at that important position. Lowe has had a rollercoaster 2023 with the Patriots at tackle, sometimes pressed into service due to injury. Wallace accumulated 40 starts at right tackle for Penn State throughout his college career and is trying to turn the other way.
Okorafor is a fascinating case as the apparent top choice at left tackle, as he has six years of NFL experience at right tackle. When speaking to reporters after Monday’s practice, the former Pittsburgh Steeler acknowledged the challenge he faces in trying to acclimate to the other side of the line.
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“I played well my entire time at Pitt,” he said. “It’s obviously new. I’m trying to learn the left from now on. … I’ve taken every photo I’ve taken in the last six years on the right.
“It’s learning how to position and use my hands. That kind of thing. This is the first day to actually face someone live, in a live kind of way. Obviously, it’s not real football yet. We haven’t even put the pads on yet. It’s just It’s going to take me some time.”
Okorafor is confident, however, that in time he will be able to handle the responsibilities his new team will throw his way.
“I’ve been in the NFL for a while,” he said. “If I knew I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t have chosen to do it. It will take time, but I know who I am and what I can do.”
There are a handful of veteran options available for the Patriots to deal with at left tackle if they feel what they have on the roster isn’t enough.
Donovan Smith started for Kansas City in last year’s Super Bowl and has nine years of experience as a starter at left tackle with the Bucs and Chiefs. He remains a free agent, and the Patriots were deemed “best suited” for Smith’s services by ESPN’s Matt Bowen. According to Bowen, Smith had a pass-blocking win rate of nearly 91 percent last year, allowing six sacks in 438 pass-blocking reps.
Charles Leno Jr. played 880 snaps at left tackle last season for the Commanders, but also remains a free agent. Since 2014, he has started 141 games at left tackle. He spent seven seasons with the Bears and Commanders showing remarkable durability by not missing a single game. According to Pro Football Focus, Leno had the 16th-best pass blocking grade among all tackles in 2023.
There is a third veteran option that Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf would be very familiar with.
By Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, former Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari was considered “on schedule” for a return to the field in 2024 by Dr. Brian Cole, chairman of orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Bakhtiari has played just 13 games over the past three seasons – with just one game coming in 2023 – and has struggled with knee problems for years. But if the free agent gets a medical check-out? Perhaps Wolf, a former Packers executive, would be open to a reunion with the five-time All-Pro.
The Patriots are experimenting with one of the most important positions in the game for now. And perhaps this experience will yield positive results. But if Wolf, Mayo and the rest of the Patriots staff have questions about how their left tackles will perform, they have other options. And they have more space available to them than any football team.
If Maye is going to play in Year 1, that left tackle position is something they’re going to want to address sooner rather than later.
